By Prince Moore
Caribbean immigration advocates in New York have welcomed a United States federal court ruling that has blocked the Trump administration from indefinitely suspending immigrant visa processing for nationals of 75 countries, including Jamaica and several other Caribbean states.
US District Judge Jeannette Vargas, in the Southern District of New York, ruled last Friday in favour of the plaintiffs in the case, CLINIC versus Rubio.
The judge found that the administration’s policy was contrary to law and went beyond the authority granted under the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Murad Awawdeh, President and Chief Executive Officer of the New York Immigration Coalition, says the ruling restores the long-standing immigration process, under which visa applications are considered on a case-by-case basis, rather than based on a person’s nationality.
The US State Department had announced a pause on January 21 this year, affecting immigrant visa applicants from several countries.
Among the Caribbean countries affected were Jamaica, Haiti, Cuba, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent & The Grenadines.
At the time, the State Department said no immigrant visas had been revoked as a result of the policy and clarified that the pause applied specifically to immigrant visas. It also said tourist and non-immigrant visas were not affected.
The latest court ruling means the indefinite suspension has been struck down, potentially restoring the normal case-by-case processing of immigrant visa applications for nationals of the affected countries.